{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-40.00","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Penal Law § 40.00","heading":"Duress","body":"§ 40.00 Duress.\n  1. In any prosecution for an offense, it is an affirmative defense\nthat the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was\ncoerced to do so by the use or threatened imminent use of unlawful\nphysical force upon him or a third person, which force or threatened\nforce a person of reasonable firmness in his situation would have been\nunable to resist.\n  2. The defense of duress as defined in subdivision one of this section\nis not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places\nhimself in a situation in which it is probable that he will be subjected\nto duress.","path":["Penal Law","Part 1. General Provisions","Title C. Defenses","Article 40. Other Defenses Involving Lack of Culpability"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/PEN/40.00","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:45Z","sha256":"a508e3656aa58790ed0f8e42b1cbcba3eabf9705b21b7530b8b3d7664e8c47cf","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-35.30","next":"us-ny/n.y.-penal-law-40.05"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}